Where There's A Will There's A Way
by The Beautiful People
Summary: Lyra is heartbroken when she finds a way to visit Will's Oxford and discovers that he's engaged to a platinum blonde superbitch. But then Will realises, with only a month to go before his wedding, that he still has feelings for Lyra!
1. Chapter 1

**This is a joint story between Lip Butter and Lulu Fae. URL's to our individual profiles and stories can be found on our profile if anyone is interested. **

**Disclaimer – **We do not own any characters from the book, however we do own Christina. We don't want her but we're stuck with her anyway but don't worry, she's gonna get what's coming to her. Heh, heh, heh!

Summary – Many years after their separation in Cittàgazze, Lyra finds a way into Will's world, but things aren't as she hopes.

_We have left Lyra's method of travel to Will's world to your imagination as we both had our ideas and were basically unable to decide which one to choose.

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Chapter 1.

Lyra had thought about Will every day since they had separated and returned to their own worlds. He was her first and only love. It had been ten years since they had last seen each other and she found it more painful every day. She went to sit on the bench every Midsummer's Day as they had agreed. She missed him more than she had ever thought possible. She often wondered what he was doing, if he thought about her as much as she thought about him, if he wanted to see her too.

* * *

Will however, had not thought about her in years. He went to the Botanic Garden on Midsummer's Day every year but he wasn't really sure why. He just felt this compelling urge to go. He had moved on and now he was engaged to a beautiful young woman called Christina. She was his everything; a little bossy, but he could look past that and he loved her anyway. Nobody could stand in the way of their happiness… or so they thought.

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For some strange reason, it had never occurred to Lyra (before now, that is) that she could check the alethiometer to see how Will was. She got so excited when this idea popped into her head that as she ran to her room she kissed every servant she passed. They all blushed bright red. But she didn't. She was too happy to worry about embarrassing herself.

The alethiometer told her that Will was happy and in love. Lyra smiled and scooped Pantalaimon up into her arms. He broke free of her embrace and said reasonably;

"It might not be you that he loves, Lyra. Will has every right to move on and fall in love with someone else. You can't just go on living in the past and neither can he."

Lyra made a dismissive gesture with her hand but part of Pantalaimon's discourse seemed logical to her. If she didn't try to find Will now then he _might _move on and she would miss her chance.

"I know what you're thinking," Pantalaimon said warningly, recognising the scheming look in Lyra's eye. "It won't work," he continued.

"Oh, how do you know?" she reached over to the table she had laid the alethiometer on and brought it back over to her. Pantalaimon climbed onto her lap and watched sceptically as she arranged the needles according to her question. He didn't answer her but it was clear to her that he disapproved.

Lyra thought hard about what she wanted the alethiometer to tell her. It was a complicated question and was most likely going to have a complicated answer so it was important for her to get it right. On her lap she could feel Pantalaimon fidgeting with boredom, almost as if he was doing it on purpose so she wouldn't find the answer. Eventually she had to ask him to stay still and ended up starting all over again. It took her longer than usual as her patience had already been tried by her daemon. He didn't say anything but his tail swished indignantly and she could sense his annoyance, making it all the more difficult to concentrate.

Eventually though, she deciphered the meanings into a sensible answer. Over the years she had found it easier and easier to discover what the alethiometer was telling her, so she was surprised to find that she felt exhausted after her effort. She had been searching for a way to get into Will's world and she had been told the answer. There was an intricate process involved and both she and Pantalaimon had their doubts about whether she would be able to do it but Lyra followed the instructions eagerly and even Pan had stopped complaining and was now pacing the room with impatience.

It was long after midnight when they had finished and both were unsure whether it would work out the way they hoped, but they were too tired from their relentless preparations to worry about it too much and they were asleep in a matter of minutes.

* * *

Lyra awoke slowly in a bed that was not her own. Her eyes hurt for a moment when she opened them because the room she was in was painted a dazzling white and the sun was shining through an open window nearby. When her eyes had focused in the unfamiliar light, she jumped up in shock to find that she was in a hospital ward. She quickly looked around for her daemon and sighed with relief to see that he was lying at the foot of the bed and just waking up as she was. He stretched lazily and she felt calm until his eyes adjusted also and his fur stood on end in vigilance. Lyra shook herself.

"This is no time to be lying in bed!" she said and Pantalaimon relaxed slightly as she did but his ears still pricked. "We're in Will's Oxford, I can hear the _cars_," she explained, saying the last word carefully to make sure she had it right. She began to climb out of the bed when a young woman came into the room and said sternly;

"Get back into that bed."

Lyra scowled at her and replied, "I en't gonna do what _you _tell me!" and Pantalaimon's fur bristled with annoyance. The nurse raised an eyebrow at him.

"Is that stoat yours?" she nodded towards him and Lyra scowled deeper.

"Pantalaimon is a _pine-marten_ and yes, he is mine," and then frantically, "Don't touch him!"

"Well I already have," the nurse replied matter-of-factly. "I wasn't going to leave him out on the streets now, was I? I suspected he was yours all right."

Lyra folded her arms. It was an insult to touch someone else's daemon but then she remembered that she was in Will's Oxford. The nurse thought that Pantalaimon was just an ordinary pine marten.

"I have to go now," she informed the woman after a moment. "I have to find someone."

The nurse opened her mouth to object but Lyra was already climbing out of the bed and searching for her clothes.

"They're on that chair over there," the nurse said helpfully and Lyra rushed over to them. Pantalaimon followed her closely, and once she was finished dressing, he jumped up onto her shoulder and they walked towards the door confidently. Outside the hospital Lyra had woken in, the street was bustling with people and cars alike. She looked around and suddenly realised how hard it was going to be to find one person in this town, when she didn't even know where to start looking. Her shoulders drooped but surprisingly, Pantalaimon offered a few words of support.

"There must be some way of finding him, it's only a matter of knowing who to ask," he told her, "We will find him Lyra, we have to, we don't know how to get home again."

It was then that Lyra realised that she didn't have the alethiometer any more. It was back in Jordan with all of her other belongings. In all the disorder of getting there she had forgotten about going back.

But of course, if she found Will, maybe she wouldn't have to.

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This chapter was co-written but the next one will be written by Lip Butter. Please tell us if you like it and if you don't then tell us why because otherwise it's just pointless flaming and we won't be able to change what you don't like!

LB LF


	2. Chapter 2

_**This chappie is written by Lip Butter.**_

_Thank you to everybody who reviewed Chapter 1. Sorry it's been so long since we updated but I had to finish reading _The Amber Spyglass_ before I could trust myself to get things right!

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Chapter 2.

Will was poking thoughtfully at his cereal that morning when Christina stormed down the stairs in her dressing gown, her blonde hair ruffled and her hands on her hips. She glowered at him and he dropped his spoon.

"_Why _didn't you wake me?" she demanded.

"It's Sunday," he replied, as if the answer was obvious. "I thought I'd let you sleep in, seeing as you've been up so early all week. I thought you could use a—"

"Will!" she interrupted him. "I've been up so early because I have a _deadline_ to meet. Have you any idea about the pressure I'm under to finish this book?" she threw her hands up for emphasis and he winced. She pointed her finger at him. "Don't you let me sleep in again. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go work on my book."

Christina was writing a book on children. On taking care of them, she told Will, but when he looked through the rough drafts for the first few chapters, although he assured her it was wonderful, he was struck with the impression that it was teaching parents how to control them, whether they really needed it or not. He thought about what Lyra would have to say about this. No doubt she would be disgusted. He wondered if she had found someone in her world.

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"Excuse me," Lyra smiled politely at the woman standing behind the counter of a sweetshop. "I was wondering if you happened to know where Will Parry lives?"

The woman shook her head and stared nervously at Pantalaimon, who was curled around Lyra's neck and studying her disdainfully with his beady black eyes. Lyra sighed and walked out of the shop, disappointed.

"This is never going to work," Pantalaimon hissed in her ear. "Oxford is a big place, you could search for days and never find him! If you had listened to me—"

"Oh Pan!" Lyra burst out, and the people around her jumped and stared. She ducked into a side street and he unwound himself from around her neck. "You never trust me!" she accused him. "I know it en't working now but we've only been here a few hours yet. You're such a, a… pessimist," she finished once she had thought of the word.

"And _you _keep cutting me off!" Pantalaimon growled. "If you had listened to me earlier instead of doing this again, you would know that the _logical _way to look for Will would be to get directions to the Botanic Garden and look to him from there, because you know already that he lives nearby."

"He could've moved," Lyra retorted.

"He said he never wanted to leave Oxford," Pantalaimon smiled triumphantly when Lyra didn't have anything to say back. After a moment she pouted and said:

"All right. We'll ask people where the Botanic Garden is and look around in that place. But if we don't find him then it's _your _fault instead of mine."

Pantalaimon smiled in response and curled himself around her neck again. "Now walk back out, and try not to shout at me when there's people about, they must think you're mad…" he teased.

Lyra made some noise between a growl and a sigh and walked out onto the street again. Her stomach rumbled. She realised that she hadn't eaten since yesterday, and that was in another world! Pan shifted uncomfortably, obviously feeling her hunger as well and she wondered if there was anything she could trade for food. Her stomach rumbled again and she patted it. She would have to find Will, and soon.

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"How's the book coming, honey?" Will put his arms around Christina's shoulders and kissed her cheek, but she shook him off without taking her eyes away from the screen of her laptop.

"Please don't disturb me Will, you know how I like to be left alone when I'm writing," she sighed exasperatedly. "But in answer to your question, the book is going quite well and I only have a couple of chapters left to go.

"Wonderful… good luck with that," he smiled at her but she didn't see him, and he left the room to start making the dinner. He was a qualified chef now. Thankfully his childhood experiences with his mother had gotten him somewhere. His speciality was omelettes. He remembered Lyra's attempt at making one and laughed out loud.

"Could you _please _stay quiet when I'm working, Will?" Christina called from her study. He sighed and walked away.

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Lyra ran her finger along the bench she sat on every Midsummer's day in her own world. She found herself missing her home and her friends. She wondered what they were doing right now and felt a prick of guilt in her heart; they were probably all worried sick about her.

"This is really working wonders," Pantalaimon said sarcastically. "He'll be here any minute now."

Lyra reluctantly walked away from the bench and wandered out of the Botanic Garden, a heavy feeling settling in the pit of her stomach. Pantalaimon felt it too and cuddled close to her.

"Will we ever find him, Pan?" she asked sadly.

"Some day, he can't hide from us forever!" he replied light-heartedly. Lyra stared at the ground, and she was just about to say something else, when she walked into someone and looked up to see a handsome young man regarding her amusedly.

"I'm sorry!" she gasped.

"It's all right, I should've stepped aside," he admitted. "You okay?"

"Yes… you don't happen to know where Will Parry lives, do you?" she asked hopefully.

"'Fraid not, I'm kinda new here, but a phonebook might help," he suggested.

"A… what-book?" she frowned.

"A phonebook," he said again.

"I en't sure… where to find one," she said slowly.

"Easy, in a phone box," he pointed at a large red box on the pavement.

_What's all this 'phone' madness? _Lyra thought bewilderedly but she smiled and thanked the young man. He gave her that same amused look and was on his way, probably thinking that she was crazy, Lyra guessed with a grimace. She walked tentatively towards the phone box and peered inside. Sure enough there was a large book inside, and without another thought on the matter she opened the door in two tries and entered the box.

"Phonebook… 2005," she murmured, and with a nervous laugh: "Pan! It's 2005!"

"Well open it!" he said impatiently.

Her eyes ran down the page, and seeing nothing familiar, she turned to the next one, but yet again Will's name was nowhere to be found. She sighed and flicked to about halfway through.

"Murphy, Ann an' Philip Murphy, Walter an' Juanita Murphy, Sarah Murphy, he en't here…" she trailed off bewilderedly.

"I think they are listed in alphabetical order, look for a page with surnames beginning with P. at the top of the page," Pan advised her, so she flicked through until she found one.

"Packard… Panning… Parry!" she said excitedly. "Marianne Parry, Adam an' Grace Parry… William Parry!" she almost jumped inside the phone box but she managed to contain herself enough to read the address.

"Now all we have to do is ask for directions to… Somerville Road!" Pantalaimon uncurled himself from her neck again and climbed up onto the top of an alien-looking object dotted with numbered silver buttons. Lyra put the phonebook carefully back in its place again and opened the door. Pan didn't curl himself around her neck this time, but ran ahead on the pavement, feeling Lyra's excitement at finding out where Will lived. She stopped the first person she met, but they told her that they had no idea where the neighbourhood was. Unfazed, Lyra stopped the next woman she saw.

"Sorry to bother you, but d'you know where Somerville Road is?" she asked politely.

"Sure, it's just a couple of blocks away, would you like me to show you?" the woman offered.

"Yes, please!" Lyra's face lit up and the woman smiled and nodded for her to follow. They chatted as they walked, the woman not telling Lyra much about herself at all; but Lyra didn't want to tell her much about herself either, and so they reached an unspoken understanding.

"Where did you get your pet, by the way?" Gina (she had however told Lyra her name, and Lyra gave hers in return, beaming when Gina told her that it was beautiful, especially Belacqua) asked.

"Oh… he was a stray, I found him," Lyra said hastily and Pantalaimon's fur bristled.

Within a few minutes, because both women walked briskly, they reached a quiet-looking street and Gina stopped at the top of the road. Lyra brushed a lock of her fair hair behind her ear and swallowed apprehensively, suddenly realising how nervous about meeting Will again she really was. It was different, now that they were both adults.

"I had better go," Gina said and Lyra jumped, having forgotten that she was with her. Gina smiled.

"Oh, I'm sorry, thank you very much for helping me," Lyra stuttered. "Really though, you have no idea how much he means to me, I don't know how I can thank you…"

At that moment she also realised how much she missed him and wanted to see him again. Gina made a gesture with her hands to quieten Lyra and smiled again.

"He?" she enquired. "Well good luck with whoever he is, and don't worry about how to thank me, it's nothing," she nodded goodbye to Lyra and then Pantalaimon, who blinked as if he had just woken up from a long nap.

Lyra grinned her own goodbye and then turned back to face the street ahead of her. She waited until Gina had turned the corner and was long gone before daring to speak with her daemon.

"What number was it, Pan?" she whispered.

"Four," he replied, gesturing lazily with a paw towards a house nearby, having already looked for it whilst Lyra was thanking Gina. "Over there. So, I'm a stray, am I?"

Lyra walked slowly towards the house and leaned for a while against its wall. Somehow she didn't feel ready to talk with Will yet. She wanted to know exactly what to say first. That was a problem. She'd been all for leaving her world and coming to his but she had never planned what she was going to say to him. As she pondered this she heard a noise and it took her a moment to figure out that Will's front door was opening.

"It's now or never, Lyra," Pan whispered and she gave him one hopeful look before standing up straight and looking towards the house. Her breath caught for a moment as she gasped. The person coming out of the house was not Will. It was a woman.

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Next chappie by Lulu Fae. Thanks again for the reviews! 


	3. Chapter 3

**This chapter was written by Lulu Fae.**

**Disclaimer - - **We don't own any characters that you may recognise from the book. We do own Christina, unfortunately. **Ick - LB. **

Thank you to everyone who reviewed and to Lip Butter who wrote an excellent second chapter (eventually). **Hey! - LB.

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Chapter 3. _"Could it really be you?"_

"I…I'm looking for Will Parry," stammered Lyra, "Does he live here?"

"Yes," said the woman at the door, as if it were obvious."I'll get him for you. WILL!" she shouted. "There's someone at the door for you."

Lyra heard a muffled "Just a minute, honey," and a door on the right opened. Will stepped out and nearly tripped over himself when he saw the young woman at the door.

"Lyra?" he exclaimed. "What are you doing here? How did you get here? Come in, come in!" She stepped over the threshold. The house smelled like lunch.

"Will! I came here to see you. I used the alethiometer. I've missed you so much," she said, all in one breath.

The blondewoman looked sideways at her. "Will," she said, "Aren't you going to introduce me to your friend?"

"Oh. Yes. Sorry. This is Lyra. We're...old friends."

"I'm Christina," she said, matter-of-factly, "Will's fiancée."

"Oh," Lyra forced a smile, even though her heart was breaking, "Congratulations. I..."

"Oh look at the time. I must get back to work. Will," she said sternly, "Are you coming?"

"No. Lyra came _all_ this way to see me. The least I could do is invite her in and offer her a coffee." Christina stuck her nose into the air and marched out of the house, slamming the door behind her. Lyra embraced him passionately. He hesitated and kissed her cheek.

"Come into the sitting room," he said awkwardly, "Where's Pantalaimon?"

"Oh, I'll go get him," she opened the front door again and picked him up.

"I can't believe you're actually here. Come into the sitting room and I'll go make us some coffee. Do you drink coffee?"

Lyra shook her head and said that water would be fine.

"Look," he said, when he came back with some biscuits (cookies) and two tall glasses of water. "Please forgive me. I didn't think I'd ever see you again."

"I already have," she said, truthfully, "Anyway, I told you that you could marry whoever you liked, as long as you're happy."

Pantalaimon and Kirjava were sitting at their feet sniffing at each other. Will and Lyra watched them, both trying to think of something to say. Eventually, Will asked,

"So, have you got anywhere to stay? 'Cos we have a spare room here."

"Really? Won't Christina be mad? I get the feeling she doesn't like me."

"Hey, it's my house. I can do what I want."

There was silence for a while. Lyra listened to the ticking of the clock and tried not to concentrate on the smell of food, which was making her stomach rumble. Finally, Will remembered his own hunger and said:

"Jesus! You must be half starved. Come into the kitchen and have a bowl of soup," he got up from his seat and Lyra followed behind him. "I'm a chef now, you know. I guess all those years of cooking for mum paid off!"

Lyra laughed. Will looked at her and smiled. She really was beautiful when she smiled and definitely more beautiful than Christina.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" she asked. He put a bowl of soup down in front of her and blushed. He decided to come out with it and tell the truth.

"I was just thinking 'bout Christina," Lyra's smile disappeared. Will continued, "and how, when you smile, she seems so unattractive." They both blushed again. He apologised and then laughed. "You know, if we keep on embarrassing ourselves like this, we'll be going around with big red faces for the rest of our lives!" that relaxed them both considerably and soon they were talking about old times and what had happened in their lives since they had returned to their own worlds.

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When Christina arrived home from work, Will and Lyra were in the sitting room chatting away. She opened the door and screamed.

Her fiancé leaped to his feet and rushed over to her. She was pointing at Pan and saying hysterically, "A rat, great big filthy rat. Sitting on my best rug. Will, take it away. NOW!"

Lyra got quickly to her feet and scooped her bewildered daemon into her arms. He immediately scampered up to her shoulder and wrapped himself around her neck. Christina stared. The daemon stared back.

"I'm going to stay at Hillary's house tonight," she said stiffly, not taking her eyes off the pine marten, "Goodbye." With that, she was gone. Lyra bit her lip.

"Maybe it would be better if I stayed somewhere else tonight. I don't want to jeopardise your relationship."

"Don't mind her. She's just got a major fear of rodents. Anyway, where would you go, if you didn't stay here? I wouldn't let you sleep on the street," She smiled her thanks and Will showed her around the house.

* * *

He decided he'd take her to his restaurant for dinner. They got back to the house at eleven and kissed goodnight. They weren't embarrassed this time. After all, they were in love again.

Well, there you have it. Hope you liked it. Feel free to tell us if you didn't and why, so we can fix it! Thanks for reading. Please review. You've got this far!

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